By Carleton Atwater
On a cold snowy January night, a few dozen people crowd into a small, unfinished basement on Mission Hill. The only light comes from sporadically-placed strings of Christmas tree lights on the ceiling. Some tall individuals must duck to avoid the water and heating pipes just overhead. A washing machine in the corner next to the furnace plays the role of a merchandise table, displaying T-shirts and CDs for sale. These people are far from comfortable in this cramped cellar, but it’s a price they’re willing to pay to see Jason Anderson and Casey Dienel perform in a Massachusetts College of Art senior’s basement.
Basement concerts like this one have seen a recent surge in popularity both in Boston and across the country, as more musicians and fans seek alternatives to traditional club venues, host Mat Patalano said. The 23-year-old has managed close to 50 basement shows since he began booking acts in 2001.
Dienel provides the ideal example of why audiences risk claustrophobia to see live bands in tight spaces. When it is time for Dienel to perform her set, there’s very little fanfare. She steps out of the crowd and sits down at her keyboard. After checking her gear and speaking briefly with her band, she starts into the first song. The audience, standing only two feet from her on the same concrete slab, sings along.
“There’s less of a division between the performer and the listener, I feel more like a bandleader, trying to get everyone involved and aware of their importance in regards to my music. At clubs, this kind of fearless contribution is a little more difficult to achieve,” said Dienel, who will perform Feb. 28 at All Asia in Cambridge.
As Dienel’s set ends, Anderson chooses to eliminate any separation between audience and performer. The Wolf Colonel singer steps into the center of the crowd, and begins singing his songs to individual members of the audience. Sophomore chemical engineering and physics major Matt Bouchard watched this unfold while experiencing his first basement show.
“It was definitely a unique experience; everyone was crushed together in a basement and [Anderson] was right with you the whole time,” Bouchard said. “I’ve never seen a guy do that at a rock show before.”
Like many artists performing in basements around Boston, Dienel is native to the area.
